I have fx5200 outputting to a aquos using a DVI to HDMI cable

I have it running at its native resolution 1368x768.

2 things I have noticed, TV broadcasts are all displayed in widescreen format even ones that I KNOW are 4:3 and the other is the pixel size seems very big resulting in a fuzzy image.

this is my modeline I am using:
Modeline "1368x768" 85.86 1368 1440 1584 1800 768 769 772 795 -hsync -vsync

my DisplaySize = 320 180

any advise in sharpening the image and getting the display format to work properly would be of great help. Thank you

What tuner are you using? What format are you storing your recordings in? How do AVI's or MPEG's played back with mplayer look?

In mythfrontend setup there are options to control the playback options. You can configure the aspect ratio and playback resolutions there. Try setting playback to the native resolution of the recording. Also try all the deinterlace options.

The playback looks blocky because you are scaling a low resolution picture (480x480? 720x480?) to a higher resolution (1368x768) and changing the aspect ratio.

I will try the de-interlace options and the other things you suggested however, your last comment makes me think I am stuck between a rock and a hard place...

If I am scaling a standard def signal (640x480?) up to my native resolution and that is why it looks so splotchy, changing the display from native will make it look justt as bad will it not? to be clearer:

Display - 1368x768 - SD signal = Splotchy (current setup

Display - 640x480 - SD signal = will work worse due to the pixel size on the LCD

Have you tried the w key?

This is why your picture quality is blocky: 320 180

Try setting deinterlace (as previously recomended) and setting your view size to 0 0.

Lastly, in addition to playing with the w key to change the aspect ratio, play around with the TV aspect ratio. There should be a button on your remote.

_________________
Skill level: 10^-3

yes all toggles keep signals in widescreen when it is in the actual "widescreen" mode it looks like its double widescreen if that makes anysense

Have you tried playing with the overscan/underscan settings in TV viewing?

_________________
Skill level: 10^-3

I have a Syntax Olevia LCD with the same native res and an FX5200, and my picture looks great (I connect via VGA). I can post the modeline I'm using when I get home this afternoon. I haven't found a working 1368x768 modeline for my TV, so I'm outputting 1280x720, but the picture still looks excellent. What TV card are you using?

As for not using the native res, either way the picture needs to be scaled, outputting at the native res means your Myth box is doing the scaling, outputting at the resolution of the video means your TV will do the scaling.

Also, how do avi's look when played with mplayer?

I am using the Hauppauge 250 with composite in

Grab a recording over the network from /myth/pretty. Play it on a different computer using media player classic. Does it look less blocky there?

The pvr-250 can record at 720x480 resolution. Is there a reason you are not using the maximum resolution?

how do I konw I am not recording at the max resolution?

In mythfrontend, go to utilities::setup::tv settings::recording profiles::MPEG-2 encoders. Then select the profile you want. the resolution is on the second page of options.

Here's the modeline I use on my LCD with the same native res:

Modeline "1280x768@60" 79.75 1280 1312 1608 1640 768 783 791 807

is it safe to assume you are have the same resolution in the "screens" section of your XF86config-4 file?

yup

I've found that it's handy to ensure that you're actually using the modeline that you think you are.

Make sure that the DefaultColorDepth is set in the Screen section, and comment out other modes in the corresponding Display section. Then re-start the GDM and check the \var\log\XFree86.0.log
to see if your modeline appears in the "Validated modes" portion of the log.
And see which one it's actually selecting - look for a line like this:



This shows another trick - rather than weed through dozens of modes that all have names that look/sound the same, I put another name up front. In this case, this was my 4th attempt at tweaking with vidtune. So it's not going to be mistaken for one of the other 1920x1080 modelines that I've cobbled together or cut/pasted from somewhere. There doesn't seem to be any checking for duplicate names.

I wasted lots of time by tweaking things, and seeing no apparent change because my modeline wasn't valid, so it just rolled to the next one. Or I was tweaking the wrong "Depth" section and it was ignoring me.